NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has confirmed that the Alliance does not plan an operation against Syria and will not withdraw from Afghanistan, despite thwe deaths of two US instructors, RIA Novosti reports.
The NATO head warned against comparison of the situation in Syria and Libya, where NATO bombed state forces. He welcomed efforts of the Arab League to find a solution for Syria.
Rasmussen said that NATO does not plan to change date of giving Afghan law enforcers control over the state. NATO will hand control to Afghan officials in late 2014. Protests over burning of Quran at the US base would not affect the process. He reminded that about 130,000 ISAF troops and over 300,000 Afghan law enforces provide security in the state.
Concerning the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago, the secretary general noted decisions of the Lisbon summit, including responses to new challenges and threats, situation in the Middle East, cyber threats, will be the main topics for discussion.
Rasmussen said that the Russian-NATO Council may be organized within the framework of the summit in Chicago. he noted lack of progress on discussions of the missile shield. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his deputy Sergey Ryabkov said that the sides need to reach common positions before organizing a session. Ryabkov said in Washington that decisions on holding a session may be made by May.
